


Aftermath: Fade to Black

by superfluoussplendor



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Compliant, First Kiss, M/M, Post Season 2, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-02-07
Packaged: 2018-09-22 14:04:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9610664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superfluoussplendor/pseuds/superfluoussplendor
Summary: Directly following season 2, Lance and Keith react to Shiro's disappearance.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was just going to be a little tumblr fic but it was too big

Everyone was quiet. The silence was starting to become excruciating but Lance couldn’t bring himself to say anything. Normally he was the first to break the tension with a joke—usually a bad one—but this…this was something too big for Lance to solve with his usual humor and avoidance tactics.

Shiro was gone. Zarkon had been defeated but the empire was still far-reaching and intact and Voltron’s leader was missing. He’d vanished into thin air.

Lance dared to look at the others. Most of his teammates were still in shock. Hunk didn’t seem able to comprehend what had happened, Pidge’s eyes were welling up with tears, Allura’s were darting around the room probably trying to decide something inspiring to say, Coran’s eyes were on her, and Keith…Keith was standing stoically and staring dead ahead.

Lance ran his eyes over the other boy. His shoulders were set; his posture was rigid, arms at his sides. Keith was the one that finally broke the silence and it wasn’t so much the dismissive ‘let’s carry on’ speech, as the empty emotionless way he said it that rubbed Lance the wrong way.

Lance couldn’t take it anymore. He couldn’t be here anymore. He did the only thing he could think of. He ran.

He heard the others calling his name but he kept running. He ran through the hangar, down the hall, past the training room, the galley, the barracks. He ran until he found himself in the upper observatory deck.

He had spent many a sleepless night here, staring out into the vast void of space. Now he fell bodily to sit on the cold metal floor and put his head in his hands. He was used to Keith blocking the rest of them out and pretending things didn’t touch him but what had happened in the black lions cockpit was obscene.

Lance had felt like he was finally getting closer to the red paladin, finally breaking down his walls, but they were clearly back up in full force. He thought about what all this meant and his thoughts spiraled into despair. Without Shiro there was no Voltron and without Voltron his family would be in danger.

He wasn’t alone with his thoughts for long before he heard steps echoing down the hallway. ‘ _Hunk_ ’ he thought. He was turning towards the door to tell him that he just wanted to be alone. He knew that there were tears running down his face and probably a crazy cornered look in his eyes but he didn’t care. Hunk was his best friend; he wouldn’t judge him over this.

But the person framed in the doorway, panting, with a furious look on their face was…’ _Keith_.’

Lance could see that he was practically vibrating. They just stared at each other for a long moment. Keith, shaking with fury and Lance with wide eyes and tear streaks on his face.

“Kei—“ Lance started but Keith caught his off.

“NO!” Keith was stalking towards him.

“Wha? Keith!” Keith was in his face now. He’d crossed the room and pulled Lance up by his collar quicker than Lance had thought was possible.

“No! You don’t get to do this! You do _not_ get to be more upset than me! He’s like my brother! This is not a competition and we are NOT fighting over who cares more about Shiro!”

He was seething now and his face was so close that Lance could feel his breathe as he spoke.

“I would love to have a mental-fucking-breakdown up here by myself but you know what? Shiro wanted _me_ to lead the team if he couldn’t so you don’t get to do this disappointed fanboy hero-worship bullshit! Because if I don’t get to break down you sure as shit don’t either!”

Lance wasn’t sure what to say, or do, or where to look. He knew what Keith was saying, knew that Keith was upset and not in his right mind right now. Lance wanted to be understanding, to just let Keith get this all out, but there was only so much he could take and he was pretty tired of Keith’s posturing.

“Fuck you Kogane,” he growled back. “I get Shiro is important to you. He’s important to all of us because that’s what happens when people are in close proximity. They start giving a shit about each other! Not that you would understand that you fucking robot, but without Shiro we can’t fucking do this and that means I’m probably never going to see my family again. So yes! Shiro’s your family and that sucks but we all lost Shiro today and with him probably everything else we’ve ever known or cared about!” He stood up fully and pushed Keith hard in his chest.

“You don’t get to come in here and yell at me and tell me I’m not allowed to have feelings! Because I have lot’s of feelings! About Shiro! About Voltron! About my family! About you!”

The fury in Keith’s eyes seemed to fizzle out as they grew impossibly wide. Lance was panting and his brain hadn’t quite caught up to his mouth.

Keith came closer. Lance flinched, figuring he was going to be manhandled again but Keith was grabbing his face firmly and wiping at the moisture on his cheeks with his thumbs. He was staring into his eyes with an intensity that was different than it had been moments earlier.

“Lance,” he whispered. And Lance really liked the way Keith said his name when he wasn’t yelling. Keith continued, “you’re right. I’m sorry. I’m just…scared.”

“Me too…” Lance whispered. He didn’t add that he was especially scared of this moment and what was happening between the two of them, and the gentle way Keith was touching him and the look in his eyes.

He had never seen Keith so vulnerable. Lance knew this was not the time but…

“I know this is bad timing,” Keith said, as if he was reading Lance’s mind. “I know I should be worried about Shiro and the team but…did you mean it?”

Lance swallowed hard. Keith was still gently stroking his face. “Do you really have feelings for me?”

Lance had battled robots, monsters, a tyrannical galactic dictator but somehow telling Keith the truth was the scariest thing he could think of doing.

“Yes,” he whispered afraid speaking any louder would break the moment and return them to reality.

Keith’s eyes flickered over his face like he was searching for any deception. “Lance, can I…kiss you?”

Lance couldn’t speak so he just nodded his head. His cheeks were burning but he didn’t have much time to dwell on it because the red paladin’s lips were like fire.

It might have been stupid and naïve but he felt for a moment like things were going to be okay.


End file.
